The first time I saw Poltergeist, I was 6 years old...the film freaked the crap out of me! The thing is, like all things that scare the beejeesus out of me, there is a good reason behind it - that reason would be an overactive imagination and a great big bloody spooky tree outside my bedroom window. Now, by nature I am a tree people, I love trees, generally the older and spookier the better. But given the right lightening and shadows, they can be downright freakin' creepy! This was the case with the tree outside my bedroom window, it totally reminded me of the tree that I had witnessed in all its glorious creeptasticness in this film I'd seen whilst having a sleepover at my friend Rhiona's. This was also the first time I saw The Goonies as well, woot woot!!!
Every night when lying in bed I'd see the shadow of this demonic tree and would think the poltergeist's were coming to get me too, aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!! Even now when I watch it I still find it creepy. It's such a wonderful film and one that has remained awesome with age too. With the combination of Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg though, what more would you expect!?!
Obviously the most tragic thing about Poltergeist legacy is the tragic death of Heather O'Rourke, the young, intensely blonde child who played Carol Anne Freeling in the three movies. The year after Poltergeist 2, Heather was diagnosed with the horrid Crohn's disease and was medicated to control it. She tragically died a year later at the age of 12, her death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest and intestinal stenosis. Her mother blames a wrong diagnosis when she first got ill as the reason she died so young. It's a horrible story and one that makes her amazing performance in this film even eerier, just knowing that she died such a short time after. Heather O'Rourke will forever be remembered as the little blonde girl from the Poltergeist movies and I guess there are far worse things to be remembered for. It's just a shame we didn't get to see more from her, I'm sure she would have grown up to become a brilliant actress...as long as she didn't fall prey to the other problems associated with child actors...A.K.A. Drew Barrymore! Whilst Drew however managed to pull it together again, so many other child actors have been lost due to drink and drugs...which is a sad state of affairs. All of this aside though, Poltergeist remains my first true horror movie experience, and I LOVE it!!! I just don't love trees outside my bedroom window! ;)
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